An ESD protection circuit usually comprises a trigger component and a suitably dimensioned transistor that is used as a short-circuit switch. If an overvoltage occurs on a line to be protected, the trigger turns the transistor on and the overvoltage is short-circuited to a reference potential via the transistor. The attached FIG. 3 shows a schematic of a conventional ESD protection circuit that comprises a trigger component 8 and a protection transistor 9. The trigger component 8 and the source and drain of the protection transistor 9 are connected between a line that is at reference potential and a line to be protected. The reference potential is a supply voltage Vss of an integrated circuit, in particular, ground. If an overvoltage occurs and the difference between the potential V on the line to be protected and the reference potential exceeds a predetermined value, the trigger component 8 changes the voltage present at the gate of the protection transistor 9 in such a manner that the protection transistor 9 is switched to conduct between source and drain and the overvoltage is short-circuited. The protection transistor 9 is dimensioned to be sufficiently large.